Lost in Transmission

i bought this book a while ago and sat on my bookshelf, somehow i sort of forgot about it and what the subject was actually i even forgot i had it until one day i just picked it up and started reading it. Bought it whilst i was still living in Oz. Read it last week, after residing in Portugal for over 1 year... and i am so glad i waited. It made me miss australia, all the familiar names and tv shows and journalists and lingo... The book is fabulous, recomend it no worries but i wont bore you with details, they are available just up in the editors area. Just buy it and read it!

I picked up this book at Stansted Airport and was already absorbed by the time I got to the check-in desk. Riveting account of a reporter in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The author was actually in Kabul on September 11th, 2001. It was very refreshing and fascinating to learn the fears and thoughts of a war reporter on the politics leading to the 'Crusade' against 'evil-doers' and the way the press can and will manipulate images to increase ratings. Also very honest and even touching portrait of people who are so often ignored or misunderstood. The author also manages to reveal a fantastic sense of humour in the face of adversity. Some of his accounts related to his girlfriend sounded oddly familiar, until I realised I had read her book ("Holy Cow") months ago, which deals with her adventures and quest for the meaning of life after moving to India to join him!

Part travelogue (with a touch of humor), part current affairs, "Lost in Transmission" has the perfect combination of intense vs. not-so-intense moments. It is enlightening about the roles of India and Pakistan in the escalation to the "War on Terror" and these countries' interaction with the Taliban. It is also, in parts, a travelogue about south Asian countries and what it is like be a reporter in remote locations. You have to be careful about reading the book in public places, however, because there are portions where the author will have you laughing out loud at the ridiculous situations and cirumstances in which he finds himself. I hope Harley writes more books because it will be a waste of a great talent if he does not.